


Tea for Two

by pinkyapples



Series: Teen Wolf Thingies [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternating Character POV, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Fluff and Crack, Freeform, Gen, Macabre Humor, OOC characterisation, Season 3a compliant, canon divergence 3A, inconclusive ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-24 10:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6149976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkyapples/pseuds/pinkyapples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr Smith finds Peter Hale an enigma.  Their sessions are more like Afternoon Tea, with a side of psychiatry, but it seems to be just what the 'doctor' ordered in Peter's case.  Surprising truths are revealed and perhaps a wounded psyche heals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introductions are made.

**Author's Note:**

> This again takes place in the nether of end season 3A, before 3B and subsequent TV seasons.  
> Peter killed The Darach and presumed Duecalion with aim taking his Alpha power. This failure left him temporarily amnesia and he found himself admitted to Eichan House.  
> Dr Valyck uses his third eye to trap Peter into reliving the Hale fire. Peter eventually breaks free of Dr Valyck's trickery.  
> This is a continuation of what happens after that. It can be read as either a companion piece to "Peter's Garden" or alone.

Peter Hale is an enigma. 

Following Dr Valyck's unfortunate demise, those affected by his third eye "awoke" from their enforced comas. The patients Dr Smith knew Ms. Doe and Mr. Hancock were unaffected, insofar as neither recalled Dr Valyck nor his supernatural status. 

Dr Smith provided plausible medical reasons for their coma status,backed up by both the Hunter's Tribunal (HT) and Emmissaries Council (EC). They were then moved to other accommodation more suitable to their needs and Dr Smith was again left largely to his own devices.

Contrary to what the EC thought, Dr Smith was not naive. He knew that most of the patients that found their way to the supernatural ward of Eichan House were irredeemable. Their minds broken either by torture at the hands of unscrupulous hunters, scientific and/or military experimentntal failures or simple trying to survive as an omega. 

The majority had been forcibly incarcerated and more than half wound up in Echan House's version of Alcatraz. Dr Smith never saw them again unless called me upon to witness a death certificate. A task that always sent him directly to his own psychiatrist in vague hope that what he'd seen wouldn't haunt him forever and leave him unable to execute his duties to his own patients.

Peter is an enigma that Dr Smith is wise enough to know he'll never unravel. He doesn't need to. What he needs to do is decipher whether or not he poses a risk to society, both normal and supernatural. Herein lies the problem. Because Peter is at best a highly functional sociopath and at worst a psychopath.

Normally, Dr Smith could rely upon family to give him an idea of what life was like for his patients prior to confinment. Peter's estrangement from his remaining family and contempt felt towards the current Beacon Hill's were-pack, meant Dr Smith had little idea of Peter's life before the fire that destroyed so many lives.

He spent an intensive month of daily sessions with Peter. Confirming for the most part the facts surrounding the Hale fire, subsequent coma years, Peter's awakening and revenge, his death and resurrection. The second month, Dr Smith spent trying to get Peter talking about what he felt towards his biological family, living or dead. The third month he asked Peter about the current were-pack. For the last two months he asked Jones, the orderly, to stand guard outside Peter's cell. Just in case something untoward should happen.

Today begins much as every other session since midway through the second month of treatment, with a cup of tea. Today's blend is called Himilayan, a Ceylon black tea blended with cherryblossom, vanilla and cream. It is Dr smith's favorite and a departure from the usual green or white teas Peter prefers. They are also drinking from chinaware instead of paper mugs. Jones stands guard as ever by the door.

Dr Smith pours Peter's tea first and passes it to him via the slotted tray his meals are delivered. He then pours his own and waits for a reaction, or lack of, both will tell him more about Peter's current state of mind.


	2. The Hounds of Beacon Hills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Smith meets with Dr Deaton. The Pack deal with rabid Hounds, hexed kettles and eccentric old women. Opinions are also given to Dr Smith about Peter and he uses that information to plan out his treatment of the enigmatic wolf.

Derek first meets Dr Smith during a routine checkup at Alan Deaton's veterinarian clinic.  Peter has been in Eichan House for two months.

The Pack has just defeated a rabid pack of enchanted hounds.  Actually, a pack of mongrel dogs belonging to an eccentric old woman who'd unfortunately come into possession of a hexed kettle.  Everytime she'd boiled water and drank it, whatever ailment she had amplified.  The cooled water she gave to her dogs affected them as well.  The hexed water affected their mental wellbeing driving all more and more paranoid.  The result was that they terrorized the neighborhood on Palm Sunday.  The Pack were called in after the dogs attacked the animal rescue officer and dashed off into the safety of the Preserve.  

Dr Smith had been called in by Dr Deaton once the Sheriff had informed him that the woman claimed "the kettle made her do it".  Eventually the Pack caught up with the dogs and after a vicious round of mutual biting, the Pack had been able to control the hounds long enough for Scott to us his Alpha Voice and roar them into submission.  Deaton had then been able to give them a mild sedative, spelled to counteract the kettle's hex and they were now housed at the animal shelter.  

Whatever wounds the dogs had inflicted had long healed but Scott had made it an unspoken rule that everyone injured check in with Deaton after a fight.  Derek had arrived with Stiles who had donned his "Dr Watson" had and was now recording the ["Hounds of Beacon Hills"](http://www.flashpointmedica.com/img/contacts/dogs.png) for posterity.  Derek had no idea why he was apparently Sherlock Holmes in this particular flight of fancy but didn't dare comment.  The tale was coming to its climatic end and he didn't want to be the cause of Stiles continuing the narration into the following day.  Enough was enough already.

As it was, an unknown voice broke Stiles' narration and the two walked into Deaton's back room to find him in conversation with another man.  Stiles thought he looked like Vincent Price, without the accent.  Derek smelt hospital on him and backed up towards the door.  

"Hello Stiles, Derek, this is Dr Smith from Eichan House," Deaton introduced the man.  

Both Stiles and Derek reacted with the same awkward wording and moved to leave the room.  

"Please, Gentlemen, stay.  I would like to speak with you both concerning a patient of mine, Peter Hale." Dr Smith said, hoping his tone of voice and mannerisms were non-threatening.  Dr Smith explained how Peter had come to be a patient and what he wanted to discuss with them both so that he might help Peter recover and once again live in Beacon Hills.  

"You do know Peter's history with Alpha power, don't you Doc?" Stiles asked.

"Yes, Dr Deaton has been kind enough to update me on the facts concerning the Hale Fire and Peter's coma.  How that affected him and yourselves and what actions were taken to stop him.  Also the facts, as he knows them with regard to Peter's resurrection.  What I'd like you to tell me is more personal.  From before the fire, Derek if you can or the years and months after the fire." 

Stiles said nothing, waiting to take his cue from Derek.  After a long uncomfortable silence Derek spoke, quietly and with an echo of hope that Stiles had never heard before. "he's not;  He's never going to be the same as he was."

"Possibly not," Dr Smith paused for a moment then continued, ""My duty to my patients is to assess each individually and see whether or not is possible for them to return to both normal and supernatural society.  Are they a risk to much?  Will they be able to assimilate into today's society?  Sadly, most of my patients are to damaged for that to happen.  Some are to violent and are remanded to the secure ward of the supernatural wing." 

"Scott should know about this," Stiles said.  

"And he shall be.  You are talking about Alpha McCall?" Dr Smith asked.  Deaton nodded, "I've asked him to come in after you and Stiles have spoken."

"Thankyou Emissary Deaton.  Perhaps you can tell me what you know of Peter Hale, Stiles?" Dr Smith asked.

Stiles and Derek spend the following two hours talking about Peter, joined by Scott, Issac and Lydia.  Dr Smith makes a note to talk with the Argent family before returning to Eichan House.  What he learns is enough to begin planning his next two sessions.  It also affords him an insight to the pack dynamics.  The Pack is young, both in age and maturity.  There are a lot of personal issues that haven't been addressed and he wonders, what, if any, advice and guidance Emissary Deaton is giving them.  He'll leave that concern for another day.  Leaving he gives Derek his business card, hoping that the young wolf will seek either his professional help, or come visit his uncle. 


	3. Afternoon Tea with Clarice, Joni and Nancy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Smith puts the knowledge gained from visiting Deaton to use with some surprising results.

"Bastard!" Peter thinks looking at [the ugly blue and purple teacup and saucer](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a4/f3/eb/a4f3ebfad6360bb7ec8f3f8a06b9e318.jpg) in his hand.

His hands tremor as he raises the cup to his lips and drinks. He wonders if the psychiatrist notices. It's a floral blend today, cherry blossom with hint of vanilla and something approximating cream. Stronger than the teas he prefers and close enough to the blends favored by Nancy that he can't quite stop the tremor in his hand as he puts cup to saucer.

"Bastard!" Peter thinks with a sigh, collects his thoughts and continues to drink his tea without further incident. The doctor does the same for a minute or two before reaching into his coat pocket and retrieving a mini iPhone amplifier. He watches as the doctor takes his phone selects a playlist and plugs it into the mini-amp. Joni Mitchell's "A case of you" drifts through the air and settles like an aural ghost around Peter.

"Bastard!" This time Peter curses aloud and rises threateningly towards the doctor. The glass partition means he can't physically hurt the man but in that moment the psychiatrist is top of his kill list. Jones, the orderly moves to block the door and the doctor places his cup and saucer upon the floor by his chair. His hands are visible shaking.

"Good." Peter thinks and steps away from the glass. He doesn't sit down again, although he notices he still holds the teacup and saucer. Their contacts are spilt over him but he didn't smash the crockery.  Dr Smith once again picks up his own teacup, takes a sip and waits for Peter to speak.

"Nancy would have appreciated me not breaking Clarice," Peter absentmindedly offers.

"Did you often want to?" Dr Smith asked.

"This particular patten? Yes. You are more deductive than I would have credited." Peter admitted.

"Not particularly, more an educated guess. I spoke with your nephew and pack mates." Dr Smith said, once again placing the teacup upon its saucer and leaving both on the floor by his chair.  Joni Mitchell continued to play softly in the background.  Peter had tensed up at the mention of Derek and the pack but he didn't make any threatening moves towards the doctor.

"Hmph, I imagine it was the puppies that yapped.  Derek doesn't speak.  Unless you call monosyllable grunts conversation, or perhaps you are one of the few people outside family that can decipher his eyebrows." Peter said after a long silence.

"He does say more with his facial expressions and body language that spoken.  He did offer that you and your late wife were Art Deco, "fans", and that she liked Joni Mitche.  That your late wife and I share a common interest is a happy coincidence." Dr Smith replied, "Although I am surprised her, or yourself,  liking this particular chinaware."

Peter scoffed.  He'd finished his own tea and was not turning the ceramic teacup over in his hand.

"Communal living, what she preferred kept finding its way into everyday or celebratory usage. We discovered Art Deco the least offensive to our personal tastes, so our wing of the house was decorated that way. Nancy chose That particular Clarice Cliff tea set because she knew nobody else would drink from it. To garish for the rest of the family. We had some nicer pieces. I remember Nancy putting the fear of God into Talia's brats once because they used our china," Peter finished reminiscing with a hushed whisper.

Nothing else was said for the remainder of his session and when the doctor left he didn't ask for Peter's teacup and saucer. For a long time Peter simply leant against the partition lost in memory. He seemed to be doing that more of late. He stood, stretched his muscles and began his daily exercise routine. It helped fill in the hours between meals and allowed a measure of control to his wolf. The dosage of wolfsbane had gradually been reduced and while he couldn't fully achieve beta form, his senses were returned.

Peter assumed that there was a magical component to the pills he was given that prevented full shift. Dr Smith had confirmed this in one of their first "quid pro quo" sessions early in the second month of therapy. Peter hated them, but he needed a clean bill of health if he wanted to keep living in Beacon Hills. And wasn't that a Catch Twenty-two conundrum. Despite all the tragedy, trauma and cost this town had inflicted upon him and he it, Peter called Beacon Hils home.

Jones came to take him to the common room following lunch. Most of the time it was empty,save for himself. Occasionally there were other patients present. Some waiting for their pack, coven, enclave or family to arrive. Once Peter observed a were-crow pace restlessly as he waited to see which of family would take him home. Peter liked were-Corvus, more because they called their family unit a "murder", than genuine respect.

Peter never claimed to have an appropriate sense of propriety. It was another thing in common Nancy and he shared. They could entertain themselves for hours in morbid, macabre and malicious discussions, arguments and humour.

There was no one in the common room today so Peter could use the ancient computer that sat on an equally ancient desk in the corner of the room. At some point i time someone had hexed the machine. Semi-sentient it worked as well as the newest model.  Unless it didn't like you. Then it acted its age. Peter used it to see to it his apartment rent was paid as well as any utilities owed.

When he left this living tomb he wanted to be as independent as possible. He would have to see Derek, much as he didn't want to, there were things belonging to he and Nancy in the Hale Vault and he wanted to know their condition. He also needed to be assured his personal safe hadn't been tampered with.

He'd been sleeping fitfully the last few nights, half remembered conversations that didn't made little sense. The only thing he took away from these night musings was a feeling of unease, as if somebody was watching him from inside his mind. He wondered if he should broach the subject with Dr Smith.

The computer seemed to like Pete so behaved as the latest iMac instead of a Commodore 64. This allowed Peter to browse the internet at leisure which in turn gave him information about the Ward's good Doctor.

It turned out Dr Smith was just that, a good doctor. Between his internet findings and own sessions, Peter begrudgingly acknowledged that he was getting the same, if not better, treatment in Eichan than what he'd receive privately. The computer whirred contentedly bringing Peter out of his thoughts and back to the present.

The spyware he'd attached to Derek's laptop as well as the hidden camera's he'd installed around the entrance, exits and hallways of Derek's loft, showed no danger.  He checked his email accounts, private and business before signing into Oxford University Press website to continue reading the latest Journal report on Pathogens and Disease. If fortune favored him today he'd even get time to watch Pinky and The Brain.


	4. A Case of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek visits Peter in Eichan House.

Peter has been in Eichan House six months when Derek first comes to visit.  

He doesn't know what to expect, even before the fire Peter was unpredictable.  Derek often wondered what his Aunt Nancy saw in Peter that others didn't.  That special 'something' that made it possible for them to grow as a couple and not stagnate or turn bitter.  He misses Nancy.  He misses his family.  Neither Cora nor Peter are who they were prior to the fire and Derek is so far removed from the boy he used to be that he doesn't recognize himself.

He's aware enough to know he should be seeing a therapist himself.  But the options available are few, he doesn't trust Alan Deaton or Marin Marell.  He accompanies Scott to the vet's just to make sure that he isn't lying to the True Alpha.  He thinks it's the same reason Stiles tolerates Deaton.  Lydia has told Scott to his face that she doesn't trust Deaton, as a man or as a druid.  Stiles is more of an Emissary to their pack than Deaton, even if he denies the position.

Derek is so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't realize he's being led to a common room until the giant orderly, (Jones he thinks is his name) nudges him.  The orderly points to where Peter is sitting, back to Derek and apparently staring out the window.  For a moment, Derek thinks he's looking at a comatose Peter.  The moment passes.  Derek thinks Peter probably staged himself in that position for the exact reaction Derek gave.  He wouldn't be wrong and Peter smirks at him as he turns to meet his nephew.

"Hello Derek, good to see you" Peter greets.  He actually is pleased to see Derek, but he won't admit it.

"Yes." Derek says and sits down opposite him. "It is good to see you."

They sit in silence.  It takes about five minutes for Derek to realize that Peter's been listening to music as he sits by the window.  It takes him another five minutes to realize that it's Joni Mitchell.

"He asked what you were like before the fire.  What your favorite music, books, actors, even colours were.  I couldn't remember at first.  Stiles told him how you met.  Then I remembered Joni Mitchell, and the horrible teacups Aunt Nancy liked." Derek says and falls silent again.

"Clarice Cliff.  We didn't like them much either but it that or keep retrieving our chinaware from the dining room every time we wanted a private dinner." Peter replied.  Derek lifted his head to meet Peter's eyes. "I didn't know that," after a pause he spoke again "but you had tonnes of the stuff in your suite.  I remember that, Aunt Nancy yelled at me when I nearly broke that naked lady lamp"

Peter chuckles and then actually laughs when Derek realizes what he just said and how like a sixteen year old he sounded.  He doesn't join his uncle's laughter but he does tentatively smile at the memory.

"Nancy could be quite frightening at times.  I think that's why we matched.  Her words would cut just as sharply as my claws." Peter said and fell silent again.

"Did she ever want the Bite?" Derek eventually asks, Joni is still singing about having a "case of you" and he assumes Peter has it on replay.  "No" Peter says.

They don't say more for the remainder of Derek's visit but when he leaves, after an awkward embrace, Peter says softly "Joni Mitchell was Laura's favorite singer.  Nancy liked The Sex Pistols, the whole 'Sid and Nancy' thing but I think that was only because she had a crush on Gary Oldman."


	5. Return to Sender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's recovery suffers a setback. Derek and Cora talk. Beacon Hills hosts an Elvis Convention….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter so far and deals with three distinct points of view, Peter, Derek and Alan Deaton. Once again unbeta'd and I apologize in advance for all three characters being out of character, or at least more so than previous chapters. Also tags have been edited to include Fluff and humor as can't seem to help myself form slipping that in, as well as some fairly 'crack' situations. Hope you enjoy the effort and yes, goblins love The King.

The month following Derek's visit is difficult for Peter.  

Dr Smith intensifies his sessions.  He feels that Peter the man is making progress in grieving the loss of his family.  He speaks more openly about life before the fire.  He continues to deflect and obscure feelings with facts but at least once a week they uncover or rediscover a grain of truth.  With each session and week that passes since his nephew's visit, Peter's personal silo fills gram by gram with those truths. As a man he slowly recovers a sense of equilibrium and when he spends almost an entire session in silent tears, Dr Smith believes Peter,the man, on the road to recovery.

Peter the Wolf, is entirely another matter.  There is a growing sense of agitation from Peter's more primal side.  Dr Smith observes this in the frequency of mood swings, increased pacing and non-verbal communiques and outright violence.  He has never been more thankful for the reinforced glass that separates Peter and himself.  The session Dr Smith believes Peter the man to be on the road to recovery is the session he begins the unenviable task of trying to reconcile Peter with his wolf.  

He won't increase Peter's medication.  

Dr Deaton disagrees, pointing out that Peter's previous instability led to a murder spree and the non-consenuel biting of two teenagers and his eventual death.  Dr Smith knows Peter is potentially dangerous.  The key word is _potentially_.  Above all else, Peter is a survivor and right now the two sides of his personality are at loggerheads over how to survive.  

Dr Smith reminds Deaton that Peter's wolf protected, nurtured and comforted for seven and a half years in a hostile environment without the support of pack or pack affiliated.   That at the very least, Peter's wolf is suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and will be treated accordingly. Dr Smith _wants_ to believe is that if he treats the PTSD of Peter's wolf, man and beast will once again find an acceptable equilibrium.  

Regardless of what Deaton or the young True Alpha might think, Dr Smith isn't a fool.  Just because he won't increase Peter's medication doesn't mean that other steps to ensure both his and his patients safety haven't been taken into account.  The patients immediately adjacent and opposite to Peter's room are moved.  Dr Smith now keeps the door closed during their sessions with instructions to Jones that if things turn ugly he place the ward on lockdown and prevent Peter from leaving at all costs.

Peter raises an eyebrow at the change in session protocol but doesn't ask the reason and the doctor doesn't offer that the changes are standard protocol and not implemented for Peter's benefit.

Their sessions are often violent as the wolf rages against all the injustice it feels done to it and on one occasion comes close to smashing through the glass separating patient from doctor.  Dr Smith never moves from his seated position.  Never deviates from the routine they've created over the past seven and a half months.  It infuriates the wolf.  It also strangely placates him.  Not that he can't smell, hear and see the fear radiating form the Doctor everytime his controls slips.  

The morning of his eighth month in therapy, Peter's wolf accepts the cup of tea given and spends the session in tense silence.  If a tiny smile pulls at the corner of his mouth when handing the teacup back at the end of session, neither man nor wolf comment.

**** **** ****

Derek doesn't return.  He keeps in contact with Dr Smith and knows Peter is having trouble controlling his wolf and that the psychiatrist and Deaton disagree on how Peter should be treated.  Deaton asked for his support which Derek refused.  For a time it put him at odds with Scott and his friends but in all honesty, Derek doesn't care for their opinions.  Cora is the only one he will listen to concerning Peter and so far his sister is indifferent to her uncle's fate. He takes that to mean let the psychiatrist do his thing and hope for the best.

They talk about Peter.  How he was before the fire, what Cora can remember of that time.  Derek spends a painful afternoon, physically and emotionally, telling Cora the truth about The Hale Fire and his part in their family's downfall.  She reacts about as well as can be expected and leaves Derek staked to the loft's floor.  Eventually, she returns and after de-impaling her brother they spend the rest of the evening reforging their family bond.  

Cora tells him how The Alpha pack captured her and what happened to the three beta's while locked in that bank vault.  How Erica and she were becoming true friends before she died.  That despite her mental strength, Boyd's love and devotion her wolf couldn't cope.  That instead of letting it become feral, she committed suicide.  Cora cried as she described how Erica broke through the wall and used the electric cables to shock herself into a grand mal seizure neither she nor her wolf could survive.  That if they had only come two days earlier, Erica would have survived.

Derek held her tight while she grieved.  He told her how and why he'd biten Erica, Boyd and Issac.  That regardless of how badly he'd failed them as an Alpha, he didn't regret offering them the bite.  That what she told him about Erica was what he'd seen in her weakened human state at the hospital.  That Boyd had proven himself to be an excellent beta and had he survived the Alpha Pack, Derek would have groomed him as Second.  Issac was loyal to a fault and that if Scott didn't recognize that then he was more fool than Derek.

Cora punched him hard, "You keep saying you failed as an Alpha but look what you had to work with.  You needed a pack Derek, you needed it fast and you chose well given the circumstances.  In a perfect world, you would have had the time needed to bring them all together under one pack, one alpha.  Deacon might think Scott the second coming, but his actions endanger everybody and ultimately led to Erica's and Boyd's death.  Frankly, the only reason he's alive to become a "true alpha" is because that brat Stilinski has brains and brawn."

Cora had begun pacing as she spoke.  She turned back to her brother and jabbed him hard in the chest, "Stop it.  Blaming yourself for Kate's lunacy won't bring our family back.  Blaming yourself for what you had to do to Peter won't suddenly make him the same uncle we knew before the fire.  And blaming yourself for needing to survive doesn't make you a bad person or a bad wolf.  McCall needs you, Derek.  I need you.  I don't want to run anymore.  This is our home."

They don't speak for the rest of the night.  At dawn, Derek turns to Cora and says, "We should rebuild."  "Okay" she replies.

*** *** *** 

 

Alan Deaton's relationship to the Hale family is complicated.  His role as Emissary was never proactive.  Talia sought his advice more often than not when she needed a second opinion or sounding board for a course of action already decided upon.  So he was as ill prepared to deal with the aftermath of the fire as the rest of the surviving Hales. 

When the fire happened, Deaton had been called away on a veterinary emergency.  In the wake of the disaster, he realized that the emergency had been staged.  He arrived at the hospital shortly after Peter had been admitted.  Amid all the chaos he was able to camouflage Peter's scent and enchant his room so that no hunter could enter. Then he made his way to the Police station to find if there any other survivors.  Laura and Derek were inconsolable.  They recognized Alan as the towns vet and it was enough for Deputy Stilinski to release them into his temporary custody.  He settled them into a motel room, enchanting it against any supernatural or hunter threat and told them he was their Pack Emissary.  

He told them of the measures he'd taken to protect Peter and that they would be able to visit him the following day.  He ordered them food and while they did so went to find them some clothing.  For the next two weeks he helped as much as he could without raising suspicion and then Laura left. Alan assumed she'd taken both Peter and Derek with her, it was an assumption that would later come back to haunt him.   In the recess of his mind, he could never be sure that his actions in hiding Peter's scent didn't affect the decisions Laura took.

The only person who could possibly give him an answer was Derek and he didn't trust Deaton.  

*** *** *** 

The Vet was bought back to the present by the bell above his front door ringing.  Beacon Hills had always drawn an unusual array of supernatural characters to it however the party of Elvis dressed goblins that greeted him as he came into the front waiting room had to have been one of the oddest Deaton had ever encounted.  After enchanting various personal items so that the goblins would appear 'normal' to humans, he sent them on their way.  He wondered whether he should attend the Beacon Hills Elvis Extravaganza just to see what other supernatural creatures loved the late King of Rock'n'Roll.

 


	6. ... and two  for tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter leaves Eichan House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as far as can go with this story at the moment. It's already completely different from what it was originally intended, a downside (or upside) of freeform writing. Anyway, probably won't write anymore Peter-centric or Hale-centric. I apologize for the unevenness of this story and one day might actually return to it and try fix the various plotholes. Hope you've enjoyed the effort.

Peter and Dr Smith continue their intensive sessions for another month.  During this time Peter observes the Doctor as much as he does Peter.  The psychiatrist is quieter than normal, an air of exhaustion around him that Peter would bet money has nothing to do with his patients.  On his next allowed time in the common room, he spends time on the computer and quickly discovers the reason for the Doctor's worn expression.  Enchain House is under new management with somebody called Brunski to take over management of the Supernatural wards.  It was time to leave.

The next session, Dr Smith placed a manila folder in Peter's tray and while he read its contents, the doctor brewed tea.

"These are discharge papers" Peter said.

"Mmm, that displeases you?" Dr Smith asked.

"Not at all, although I was under the impression as voluntarily admitted this much paperwork wasn't required" Peter made a vague hand gesture over the folder.

"You would think that would be the case," Dr Smith said as he approached the door to Peter's room proper. "However, things have changed."  Smith unlocked the door and returned to his seat.

"Under new management?" Peter made no move to leave, curious to see what would happen, "at least that's what I've heard."

Dr Smith passed him a cup of tea, sat down and drank his own, put down his teacup and picked up his notebook.  "You heard correctly.  It would appear that the Emissary Council and Hunter's Tribunal don't like how I run this Ward.  They don't like the way the secure ward is run as well, which worries me far more than their issues with myself."

"Hence the 'get out of jail free' card," Peter remarked, "I like this blend, what's it called?"

"Himalayan, I'll get you some," Dr Smith said and they sat drinking tea in compatible silence for a minute or two.  Then, meeting the wolf's gaze he asked, "What will you do?"

Peter had given a lot of thought to this question in between their sessions.  He'd been dreaming again, or remembering, he wasn't entirely certain; either way, he felt himself being called towards The Nemeton.  Towards its lingering power and the possibilities it offered.  Assuming that everything he'd experienced since 'waking' from Valyck's psychic-induced coma was in fact real.  Somedays he wondered if it wasn't all some sort of elaborate dreamscape his mind had created and he was still lying comatose in a hospital bed.

"Try reconnect with Derek and Cora, find a job, keep living." Peter's answer was vague but apparently satisfied Smith.

"Good platitudes, I would recommend you continue therapy.  I think you need it.  In fact your entire family needs it, but" Dr Smith shrugged, "you'll need to sign where indicated.  Jones will bring you a change of clothes. Good Luck, Peter"  

The doctor held out his hand and Peter shook it.  He'd been at Eichan House for nearly ten months now, the ragtag brats that made up Derek's pack (and as far as Peter was concerned it  _was Derek's Pack_ ) would soon begin their senior highschool year.  Beacon Hills had continued to attract the weird and wonderful, although nothing dangerous of late.  Which only meant that something bad was headed their way.  Peter rather liked the idea of being onside for when that happened.  He was pulled out of his reverie by Jones coughing.  Peter looked up to see the orderly holding a suit in one arm and the common room computer in the other.  He raised an eyebrow and waited for the explanation.

"Clothes.  She wanted to go with you." Jones stated, put the items on and beside the psychiatrists abandoned chair and turned to leave.

Peter changed, made sure there was nothing left of himself in his room and walked out the door, the computer in his hands.  Jones escorted him to administrations and then off the premises.  At the gate, the orderly offered a final piece of advice,"Dr Smith good. This place, not good.  Don't come back"

"I don't plan to," Peter replied but Jones was already stomping back towards the Sanitorium.  He looked at the computer in his hands, "How do you feel about gardening?" he asked it because he suddenly had an idea of what he was meant to do at The Nemeton.

"You and I, we're going to make an old tree thrive again.  That'll piss Deaton off no end, should be fun" Peter straightened his shoulders, lugged the computer into a better position and went in search of a taxi.  He had a plan to implement. 


End file.
